Storage of shoes remains a problem especially in the modem home. Today's home equally serves the purpose of providing shelter and creating a physical manifestation of an individual's personality, interests and wealth. To that end modern homes often have grand entrances and/or fine interior treatments such as hardwood floors, expensive carpeting, natural stone tiles, or exotic antique rugs. To protect these interior treatments, homeowners often require occupants and guests to remove their shoes upon entering the home.
In addition to protecting interior treatments, shoes are often removed to prevent water, snow and debris from entering the home, thus keeping interior surfaces cleaner longer. Children, because of their immaturity and size will often walk in water, snow and debris unwittingly or for fun. Their small size often causes their shoes to contact the surfaces of furniture, as they often need to climb into the normal seating position assumed by an adult.
Many cultures require the removal of shoes before entering the home for a variety of reasons. In some cultures it is feared that debris carried into the home on shoes will cause sickness in small children who on occasion crawl around the floor surface. Shoes are also removed to maintain clean floors for purposes of religion. For example, having clean floors is vital for some religious observances that require individuals to occupy the floor several times daily.
Shoes with mild to moderate traction enhancing soles are capable of carrying significant quantities of water, snow and debris into a home. The average shoe can carry upwards of 5–10 mL of rain water and as much as 15–25 mL of water from melting snow. In regions that experience moderate amounts of snowfall annually, it is a constant battle to prevent water, snow and debris from entering the home. This problem is so significant that architects have sought to address this problem through a home's design by including mud rooms or other designated areas to remove wet-, snow- or mud-covered shoes and garments.
Today, individuals tend to own multiple pairs of shoes and on occasion invite several guests to their home at once. This situation will cause numerous pairs of shoes to accumulate near the door covering a substantial area of the floor. This situation can create a variety of safety hazards. Shoe clutter can prevent the free swinging movement of doors baring entry and exit from a dwelling. As few as one pair of shoes saturated with rain water or melting snow can create a wet slippery floor inviting injury from a fall. Unorganized shoes also create a tripping hazard by their mere presence near the door or otherwise in a home's traffic pattern.
Typically an inexpensive washable rug is often selected to serve as a collection point for shoes. Rugs such as these can quickly become saturated with water and debris thus necessitating frequent cleaning and have a limited shoe capacity as defined by their size. Further inexpensive rugs often do not necessarily complement the interior of today's finely furnished home. Also rugs of this type when saturated with water and debris do little to protect the floor beneath it. Rugs only offer minimal protection to floors because water can soak through most and they do very little to contain the lateral dispersion of debris. With most rugs of this type, shoes can remain in contact with both water and debris for a sustainable period of time. Also, multiple pairs of shoes may end up being inadvertently stacked atop of one another causing water and debris to contact other shoes risking damage not only to the floor but also to other shoes nearby.
The prior art contains numerous devices for organizing and storing shoes. The typical prior art device consists of a solid frame constructed of wood or plastic with a number of shelves being designated to hold shoes in a predetermined fashion. Still others rely upon another supporting structure such as a door to suspend a series of plastic, fabric or cardboard shelves. These shelves are often constructed in close proximity to one another to maximize the number of shoes stored in the smallest area possible. Such shelves can become damaged by water, snow or mud remaining on shoes placed in them. Since the shelves are placed in close proximity to maximize space this also minimizes air circulation and prolongs drying times for shoes and shelving materials. The shelving materials can quickly become damaged and dirty with no ready or anticipated way to disassemble or clean them.
Other prior art shoe racks possess the capability to store numerous pairs of shoes, but do so in an open design that hangs shoes from hooks, loops or pegs attached to and extending outwardly from the rack. This rack is still not aesthetically pleasing and does not offer sufficient means to collect water or debris from shoes. Another disadvantage of this type of rack, especially in a vertical configuration, is that water and debris from one shoe can impermissibly contact other shoes. These racks can also become damaged and dirty with no ready or anticipated way to disassemble or clean them as hereinbefore mentioned. Also, this type of rack, like many other prior art devices, is incapable or does not allow the user to comfortably sit on the rack to remove shoes prior to placement therewithin.
In accordance with the present invention, applicant has appreciably devised a shoe rack and tray assembly that is aesthetically pleasing for the modern home, can store and organize one or more pairs of shoes, can protect the interior space of a home and prevent damage to the rack itself or other shoes, can contain ample amounts of water, snow or debris, and is easily removed from its location for emptying and thorough cleaning.